Hints for parents of 13 year old student pilot?

Jay Honeck wrote:

My son, age 13, is planning to take flight lessons this summer.

My only advice is to go for it. Ok, so he *can't* solo for a few years. If you
wait until he can, there's a good chance that he'll be more interested in abusing
your ears with his idea of how to play a guitar or mooning over some girl. Let
him do what he can, and, if he loses interest, he'll have more to come back to
later than a vague memory of how Papa took him flying as a kid.

George Patterson
Battle, n; A method of untying with the teeth a political knot that would
not yield to the tongue.

"G.R. Patterson III" wrote:

My only advice is to go for it. Ok, so he *can't* solo for a few years. If you
wait until he can, there's a good chance that he'll be more interested in abusing
your ears with his idea of how to play a guitar or mooning over some girl. Let
him do what he can, and, if he loses interest, he'll have more to come back to
later than a vague memory of how Papa took him flying as a kid.

On my last flight I let my little four-year-old think she was flying
the airplane. "Left turn! Yay!" "Right Turn! Yay!"

People tell me that she'll never let go of that interest, having
developed it at such an early age. If so, then I should not have a
problem keeping her interested in flying, because she'll do it all on
her own.

Rob

On my last flight I let my little four-year-old think she was flying
the airplane. "Left turn! Yay!" "Right Turn! Yay!"

My son started flying the plane about age 4, too.

The only danger is that flying can become so commonplace, they forget how
special it is. Both of my kids have gone through period where they were
jaded about flying, simply because we do it so much.

Of course, that's when it's time to give them some right seat time, which
usually does the trick. (But it ain't always easy, getting my wife -- also
a pilot -- to relinquish that seat! :-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

In rec.aviation.piloting Jay Honeck wrote:
Of course, that's when it's time to give them some right seat time, which
usually does the trick. (But it ain't always easy, getting my wife -- also
a pilot -- to relinquish that seat! :-)

How about Mary in the left seat, and your son in the right?



--

__!__
Jay and Teresa Masino ___(_)___
http://www2.ari.net/jmasino ! ! !
http://www.oceancityairport.com
http://www.oc-adolfos.com

How about Mary in the left seat, and your son in the right?

Actually, the only time we've done that it was my DAUGHTER in the right
seat, Mary in the left seat, and us guys in the back.

It felt very, very strange!

But Mary's always welcome to do so -- she just never wants to.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:_iW7c.70219$Cb.992922@attbi_s51...
On my last flight I let my little four-year-old think she was flying
the airplane. "Left turn! Yay!" "Right Turn! Yay!"

My son started flying the plane about age 4, too.

The only danger is that flying can become so commonplace, they forget how
special it is. Both of my kids have gone through period where they were
jaded about flying, simply because we do it so much.

Keep increasing their participation on each flight to where by the time
they're 15 they're doing most everything.

On Mon, 22 Mar 2004 14:16:08 +0000, Jay Honeck wrote:

My son, age 13, is planning to take flight lessons this summer. My wife and
I are both pilots, so he has been flying since birth.

Any parents out there gone through the same experience? My concerns a

1. Training Program. His training need to be thorough, but not dull and too
"book oriented." I don't want him to burn out.

2. Structure. He's a typical 13 year old -- one minute mature, the next
minute a scatter-brain. He learns best in a structured environment, which
is something I've noticed is lacking in most FBO-based training programs.
The problem, of course, is if it's too structured it may become dull, and
then we're back to #1.

3. Frequency. Given his inability to solo for a few years, I was thinking
that weekly lessons would be plenty. I know this slows the learning
process, but that's okay for now. Or do you think he'll lose interest at
that slow of a pace?

4. Instructor. Whoever teaches him is going to have to relate to a young
teenager. Considering the young age of most of our CFIs, this may not be a
problem. Or, they may not take him seriously. Or, worse, he might not take
*them* seriously.

It's really hard for me to tell if his interest is genuinely internal, or if
it's just coming from the fact that his mother and I are pilots. We've
assumed from birth that he and his sister would one day fly, just like we
assume that they will one day drive a car and go to college, so it's not
like he's got this unusually strong, burning desire to fly. Heck, he's been
flying right seat since he was 8 years old, so it's kind of "old hat" to
him, and he, too, has always just "assumed" he would learn to fly.



I would wait. He can't solo for a long time. 4 years is a long time in
the life of a 13 year old. My daughter is 14 and started lessons at 12.
Then she got interested in other things. friends, boys, cars. $1000 down
the tubes.

jerry

"J" wrote in message
$1000 down
the tubes.


Kinda early to say that, ain't it? Those kind of investments may take a
while to mature, you know. Because of her early experience, she may blossom
into something unexpected like an astronaut or (your worst nightmare) an
engineer.

--
Jim Fisher

On Mon, 22 Mar 2004 23:01:40 -0600, Jim Fisher wrote:

"J" wrote in message
$1000 down
the tubes.


Kinda early to say that, ain't it? Those kind of investments may take a
while to mature, you know. Because of her early experience, she may blossom
into something unexpected like an astronaut or (your worst nightmare) an
engineer.

She really has no love of flying. She grew up with a plane in the
family so a plane is just a means of transportation. Sort of like a car.

As far as her other skills, she has been a straight A student for 8 years
(now in 8th grade), is tops in the school in math and physics, and
achieved her black belt at 10. So we have not problem with motivation or
focus. Flying is just not a big deal.

Sigh,

jerry

Jay Honeck wrote:
My son, age 13, is planning to take flight lessons this summer. My
wife and I are both pilots, so he has been flying since birth.

Any parents out there gone through the same experience? My concerns
a

The latest AOPA Flight Training magazin has an interesting article on this
subject, well worth reading.

jue